‘Suspicious’ fire at former Lima motel

LIMA — Bath Township firefighters were dispatched Wednesday morning to the site of a former motel just northeast of Lima city limits and found portions of the structure filled with smoke upon their arrival.

Joe Kitchen, chief of the Bath Fire Department, said the cause of the fire is “undetermined and under investigation, and is considered to be suspicious.”

According to Kitchen, a passing truck driver observed the fire and called 9-1-1 at approximately 9:21 a.m. to alert the fire department of a structure fire at 1201 Neubrecht Road — the location of the former Lima Inn Motel. The motel closed more than a year ago and the structure has been unoccupied, Kitchen said.